Maximum Ride: The Final Battle
by burnoutbright
Summary: Sequel to M.R.: Taking Chances. Friends and enemies alike return to fight the most epic battle of the century. The battle for the World. And who was leading it? None other than Maximum Ride. Quote from final chapter inside.
1. Chapter 1

**SNEEK PEEK: **

The Flock was gone. Dispersed. Gone to find their assigned positions. It was daybreak. I marched myself forward and stood at the gates of Hell, waiting for the devil himself to wake up to find me here. Today was the day. The final battle. The day we'd win.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: PERFECTION**

Things were perfect. How often do you hear me say that word? I know, rhetorical question. But never. Ever. Just to give you poor, uninformed people a grasp at the severity of my choice of words. But I had it all:

1. Safety powered by the government (more on that in a sec)  
2. Freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies  
3. My mom and half-sister right by my side  
4. My Flock right by my side  
5. A potion that's made us pretty much immune to the slightest sneeze (and expiration date) AND  
6. Fang

I sighed as I sank my teeth into my fifth cookie. Life don't get much better than this, people.

After camping out for about 3 weeks, the Flock and I managed to make it down to Arizona to my mom's house without too much trouble. Once we had settled my mom brought out the latest of her ideas to keep her little bundles of joy safe.

"Secret service?" I asked, warily.

She nodded. "Yes. Round the clock protection by trained professionals. From the same line of people who keep the President safe." Line of people? Sheesh. She made them sound like a product or something. 'Come buy your own agent for a new low price! From the same line of people who keep the president safe! Only $99.95 plus shipping and handling with your club card.' I heard a stifled chuckle from Angel and I smiled. My beautiful six-year-old mind reader.

"They'll make sure you always have back up and one hundred percent safety," she finished.

"Wouldn't that mean they'll be following us everywhere?" I pondered. In that case, no. HECK no. I don't care who it was but I wasn't going to let a bunch of rough-and-tough governmenty people stalking us everywhere. I remembered the cameras in Dr. Athens's house and shuddered.

"No," my mom replied. "But you will have this." She pulled out a cell phone and handed it to me. "Call the number on the back to talk to Mr. Landell. He's the head of the agency program and a personal friend of mine and Jeb's." She pointed to a red button. "This is for emergencies only. Press this button if you can't speak and people will be sent to find you. The device has a tracker."

I checked the device out. It looked like a normal cell phone. I stuffed it into my front pocket of my jeans and nodded to my mom. Pros: We will have security wherever we go. Cons: We will have security wherever we go. People tracking us, following us, updating us. I hate people.

An alarm beeped and my mom looked at her watch. "Well, have to go to work. You'll be gone when I get back?" I nodded. She grabbed her keys and kissed my forehead and then Ella's. She rustled Gazzy's hair, pinched Angel's cheek, gave Nudge a quick hug, patted Iggy's face (she was replied by a sour face), and then stopped at Fang and just looked up at him. She was about two inches shorter than him. She smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. Fang looked confused. "Take care of my baby," she whispered. Fang gave a slight smile and she turned out and to the door. My heart swelled as I watched her. We'd only spent the last three days with her and she's already provided us with so much. Ignoring my fighting emotions to keep everything in like the strong leader I am, I ran up and hugged my mommy like a freaking little kid. She just breathed in and hugged me tighter.

"I love you, sweetie."

I nodded. "Love you, too, Mom."

She finally let go and let out a teary breath. "Well, can't be late for work. I hope to see you all again soon." We all just stood and smiled at her. "Fang?" the boy's face looked alert and he gave her his fullest attention. "Remember what I asked of you." Fang just nodded nonchalantly and smiled. And with that my mom was out the door.

I turned around to face my Flock plus Ella and sized them all up. "Well?" I asked. "How shall we spend our last day in luxury?" I watched each face. Everyone had the same reaction but they each read a different response. I looked to Ella. "You pick."

Ella bit her lip and looked up in thought. "I have just the idea," she said slowly. Everyone's eyes turned towards the girl who held the fate of the day in her hands.

--

I wanted to protest. I really did. I wanted to scream and I was bouncing in between both of my feet anxiously. Fang nudged me with his elbow and I glanced up to him. I couldn't read his eyes but I could read his lips. They were straight and pressed against each other signaling for me to calm down. He didn't want to do this either. I guessed he was right. I did tell Ella she could pick our event for the day. But why _this_? On the other extremes, Nudge was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"This is sooo cool!" she squealed. "I've never been to the movies before! I've always wanted to go! I can't wait to have the popcorn and a soda and candy! And I can't wait to see the movie! I've been wanting to see this one! Oh, Max, isn't this great?!"

Nudge spun around and smiled brightly at me. I quickly put out a toothy-fake smile and exchanged it with a frown once she turned back around. Angel came up and grabbed my hand.

_It'll be okay, Max. Besides, we've got government people, right?_

I smiled down at my sweet angel, Angel. I gave her hand a tight squeeze then she ran up as the line moved forward and met me at the desk. I had seen people do this on TV. You just said the name of the movie and how many tickets, right? I looked up through the clear plastic window just as a girl in her early twenties looked up at me. I frowned noticing her, yes, _red_ hair. I have instant grudges against people with red hair.

"May I help you?" she asked almost too sweetly.

I sighed. "Yeah…could I get seven tickets for the Light in the Darkness movie?"

"Sure thing. How many adults and how many children?"

"Uhhh…" I looked over at a chart on the window. It read: 'Children (12 and under): $7.25 Adults, Seniors: $9.50'. "Three children and four adults."

"Okay…that will be $59.75." I handed the lady three twenties through the hole in the window and she gave me seven tickets and a quarter. I turned around to my gang and motioned for them to follow me into the theater.

Everyone ran up to the candy counter as Fang and I stayed behind and gave the guy at the front our tickets. He ripped all seven of them on the little tear line and pointed to the left. "Theater four." He mumbled. I took the tickets back and thanked him before joining the others at the counter. I looked up to see about five workers scrambling around behind the counter getting drinks, candy, popcorn and slushies.

After mounds of food got stacked on the glass counter and everyone grabbed their treats, Fang stepped up and ordered a large bag of popcorn and an extra large soda. He paid. Then he turned to me. "Wanna share?" I smiled and nodded. We made our way left to theater four and entered through the door. Inside it was pitch black silent. I started to get goose bumps. If you've paid any attention at all to my past, you'd know that I hate dark places with bunches of people I don't know or trust. And this is just what this place was. A heart attack in a stuffy room waiting to happen.

We all filed in to the middle row in the back section. I sat by Fang on the edge. He sat by Iggy who sat by Ella who sat by Nudge who sat by Angel who sat by Gazzy. That's when it hit me. Why were we here? Iggy's freaking _blind_ for crying out loud. **(A/N: I TOTALLY forgot about that but was too lazy to think up anything else for them to do. Oh wells!)** I took a second glance at Iggy. He was sitting staring sightlessly at the huge screen in front of us. Well at least he wasn't deaf, I guess.

Then suddenly, all of the lights went out except for tiny dots on the floor outlining the escape path. (Yes, _escape_ path). Then, out of nowhere, extremely LOUD music started playing from the speakers around us. I jumped in my seat, gritting my teeth and gripping my arm rests. Fang's hand gently made its way on top of mine. My heart fluttered and I shot a quick glance at him and then back at the screen. He was watching the trailers of movies play out before us and he looked tense. I don't think he liked the idea of this as much as I did. Neither did Iggy. But the others all looked enthused. I guess we could put up with this for a few hours. What's the harm?

--

Every loud, unexpected sound that came from those speakers made me jump. And each time Fang squeezed my hand gently to let me know that everything was okay. Once the movie was over I ran out into the afternoon light, carelessly blinding my now dark absorbed eyes, and gulped in the fresh, desert air.

"Gloria!" I cried. Fang chuckled and came up behind me, rubbing my shoulders.

"That was absolutely amazing!" Gazzy yelled. "They blew up an entire CITY! Didjya hear it, Iggy? Didjya?"

Iggy nodded, hands in his pockets, smirking. "Music to my ears." Angel, Nudge and Ella were all talking about the romance in the movie. About how the girl was sooo absolutely perfect for the guy and how hot the guy looked in that movie.

"Wasn't he just so _amazingly hot_?" Nudge asked me in a sing-songy voice.

I shrugged. "Meh. I've seen better." I sneaked a wink at Fang and he smiled approvingly. But I mean, come on. Who couldn't resist his smile? Not even a camera could-…forget I said that.

"Ohmygod!" Nudge cried again. I looked down to her excited face. "It's like…you!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sweets. Welcome to planet Earth, how may I help you?"

Nudge shook her head and her curls bounced. "No! Like, you and _Fang_! Like in the movie! Ya know? Growing up together, becoming best friends, the guy falling in love with the girl, the girl running away, the girl coming back and telling the guy she loves him, they get together, get married, have a wedding, having-."

"OKAY!" I interrupted with wide eyes and a horrified face and started walking away. "Who wants ice cream?"

--

After we got back to the house I ordered for everyone to start packing their bags. "You can each take one pack but don't stuff it with more than you can carry. Remember, we're gonna be logging major hours and I don't wanna stop just because someone packed one too many cases of matches." I glared over at Gazzy and Iggy who just smiled at me innocently. Crazy mutant-bird-kid pyros.

I cleaned up the dirty dishes and all of the action figures Mom had bought for Gazzy and the trinkets Nudge and Angel received and headed upstairs. I gave each doll and figure to their rightful owner and proceeded to my room. I looked around. I had already packed a first aid kit, my clothing, some food and cash and I had my new cell in my pocket. I picked up a picture from my bedside table and looked at it admiringly. It was of my family. Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Ella, me and my mom. I frowned. Two people were missing. Jeb and my half-brother, Ari. Ari was dead and I had no clue where Jeb was, let alone if he was safe. We left him late in the night escaping from Dr. Athens's house. He had saved us, all of us, again. He let us free and gave us our antidotes so we didn't drop like rocks with bird flu out of the sky.

I stuffed the picture into my pack and zipped it up. Yeah, it was a little heavier than I wanted it to be, but it had all the necessities. Besides, Fang had the laptop so it wasn't like he could carry any of this stuff. Speak of the devil…

Fang placed his hands on my shoulders from behind and placed a quiet kiss on the top of my head. "Ready to go, Oh Leader One?"

I chuckled at the snide remark. "Why yes, Oh Emotionless One."

I turned around to see his smile and my heart filled. I love his smile. "Emotionless?" he asked, pretending to be hurt. Something shone in his eyes as he leaned closer to me. He put one hand in between my wings on my back and one hand behind my head. He pulled me against him and kissed me slowly and tenderly. I moved my hands up his chest and onto his shoulders and kissed him back. After a moment he pulled back.

"Okay," I said. "_Almost_ emotionless." He smirked and crashed his lips back down on mine with urgency and power. He moved forward and walked me into the wall. Fang kept kissing me with roughness and dominance. I smiled against his lips. I am the leader but…I don't always have to be. Fang was just so... I don't know. I just don't know. But I allowed it. We finally broke apart and breathed quickly and heavily. I kissed him quick before slipping through his grip and to my bed. I put on my pack and headed out the door without a word. I heard his footsteps stop out in the hall right outside my room.

"You're a wonder, Maximum Ride."

I smiled. _Good_, I thought. _Because I hate it when people have me figured out._

_I have you figured out,_ I heard. I froze at the bottom of the stairs and stared. _Dr. Lyons?_

* * *

**A/N: OKAY! First chapter of the sequel. I was gonna put it up when I got back from AZ (why is it that whenever Max is somewhere I'm in the same place?? As I read MAX, I'm in Honolulu at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as I write this, I leave for AZ…..weird.) ANYWHO, hope you like. Title not final. You have a better one (anything is better, trust me) let me know. My skills are not in titles they're what are beyond the title. There's some minor PreAP English metaphoric, go beyond the lines speak for ya! Enjoy. –burnoutbright.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so I'm in a squashed truck in Oregon, coming from Washington State, on my way to Arizona with my laptop typing away, trying to figure out an idea for chapter two. So, like the resourceful brainiac I am (psh) I ask my eighteen-year-old smarty-pants older sister for some ideas. Here is what she came up with: The mall (done too many times); a haunted house (possible…); a theme park (also possible); or…an Eraser party. Really, Jacqui? **_**Really?**_** Well, I'll go with the theme park (keeping the haunted house in mind for another little write-up) and throw some Erasers in there for good measure. Thank you, Jacqui. **

**Chapter Two: Jealous Much?**

It had been about three days since we had left Arizona and headed off for our next destination. Where? East. Why? I don't know. Call it instinct. Because all the good stuff happens in the East. Anne Walker, the President of the U.S.A., the Institute, Sam and little miss _Lissa_. Yup. Love the East.

It was around seven o'clock in the evening and dark when the bear in my stomach decided to bail on hibernation and demand food. Reasonable request, I guess. That's when I spotted it. We all spotted it. Down a few hundred feet below us. Lights. Lots of lights. And a little spinning thing. Well, little from up here, monstrous from down there.

"A carnival!" yelled Nudge, excitement in her eyes and voice. "Oh, Max, can we go? Please? I love carnivals! Well, I like the sound of them. I've never actually been on one. But Farris wheels, cotton candy, soda, hot dogs, mini roller coasters, clowns, games, dunk tanks…" she sighed. "It would be sooo cool."

I thought about it. A carnival. Lots of people. Eh. Lots of food…

"Okay," I said carefully. "But only because I'm super hungry and I'm totally in the mood for a hot dog." I'm a push over when it comes to food, yes. That's great, isn't it? I'm losing will power. "But we can't stay long. We need to get…East." I wasn't exactly sure _where_ but I could figure that out later. Without the Voice (a.k.a. Dr. Lyons. For those of you who didn't bother to read the previous adventure, you're most likely as confused as a mutant bird-kid in a dog crate. Well…you'll find out.) I wasn't too sure exactly what to do next. You see, I'd heard the Voice once since we left Dr. Evil's house but for the time being, he's AWOL. So if you've got a voice I could borrow temporarily, I'd mucho appreciate it.

So it was settled (with a somewhat depressing look on Fang's face- you win some, you lose some). We landed about two blocks away from the little fair behind some bushes and headed on our merry ways to where the fun was. We went up to a little booth and an older man looked over at us. "How many?" I was reminded of our movie experience. Tickets were sold for everything weren't they? So we got our tickets and hustled in.

The smell was _incredible_. Popcorn, cotton candy, your basic fair smells. I loved it. But the crowds of people I could do without. "Where you guys want to go first?" I asked Angel, my baby. She looked up in wonder for a moment.

"Hmmm…" she thought. Then her blue eyes caught a hold of a little booth and her face smiled. She grabbed my hand and dragged me. We got to a booth that said: "The Guessing Game". As if that wasn't startling enough, I saw the prize. A little teddy bear with white wings and a halo. Just like Celeste, the bear she lost on one of our many adventures. Funnily enough, she had gotten that bear by mind persuasion, as well. I rubbed my temples.

"How about _I_ play, Ange? I'll get the bear for you…like a gift." The girl crossed her arms over her chest and let out a very impatient and stubborn huff.

"_No_. _I_ wanna do it, Max. You'd just lose."

I glared down at the little girl and narrowed my eyes at her. "No." Angel growled and I rolled my eyes. Then we turned to the boy at the booth and I handed him a ticket.

"Okay, little lady," the boy said. He was about my age with dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes. I gulped and turned to look at Angel. "Here's what you do." The boy looked at me and smiled. I tightened my lips. He picked up a black marble and put it under one coconut out of the three. The middle one. "Now I'm going to mix up these shells and you're gonna have to tell me which shell the marble is under." This seemed easy enough. The boy started moving the shells around and boy he was _fast_. It was hard even keeping an eye on his hands. Then he stopped and smiled at me. I blinked a few times and looked back and forth between my three choices. "Uh…" I pointed to the one on the end on the very left.

The boy smiled and picked up the shell. No marble. I didn't even want to look down and see Angel's face. I could already hear her think _I told you so_. The boy put the shell down and picked up the one in the middle, revealing the marble. "That's okay," he said. "Try again." The boy moved the shells around, a little slower, and I tried again. No luck.

Angel bit her lip. "Max, I _told_ you to let _me_ do it!" Little brat. Angel glared, hearing my thoughts. The boy at the booth spoke up again.

"If you're sister there really wants the bear, she can have it," he said. I looked at him expecting to see horror or confusion on his face. But I didn't. I looked down at Angel and she shook her head.

"I don't know, I mean, it wouldn't be fair, really."

The boy chuckled and I stepped up to the counter again and watched him. "It's okay," he said, leaning closer. "Consider it a nice gesture for a pretty girl like yourself. And for your cute little sister."

I almost puked. Just for that I didn't want to take the bear but I know Angel would me mad at me for the rest of the night if I didn't take it. So I did. I pulled a note off of the bear and gave it to Angel. As I opened it, Fang walked up and handed me a hot dog.

_Hey, you're cute. Call me sometime. Drake Summers 987-384-2947_

Fang snatched the note from my hands and shoved it in his pocket. I looked up at him in blaint shock. "Jealous, much?" I asked, smiling. Fang just glared at me and walked away. Jeez, what's his beef?

After another three or four hot dogs, Fang made a suggestion. Iggy go with the kids, Fang and I alone. That's not conspicuous at all, Fang. Nice job there buddy boy. Iggy just told us to be careful in a sly voice before running off with the others so he would be out of my pummel range. I turned to Fang and he took my hand. Then he looked at me with an unreadable face.

"You didn't like that guy, did you?" I laughed. Fang didn't laugh with me. He was serious. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him deeper.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "Why would I? I just met him."

Fang huffed. "Didn't seem to bother you when you were making out with Mr. Incredible back at Anne's."

I stared at Fang in shock. Did he really just go there? _Really_? I dropped his hand and glared. "Yeah, and _how_ long had you known that Red-Haired Wonder before you had your hands all over her? Like, what? A day?"

Fang glared back and started to walk away. Sexist pig. I mean _seriously_. Like I was really going to dump Fang (of all people) for that jelly boned loser at the carnival booth. How could he be so…jealous? And what was with bringing up Sam? That was completely different! Fang and I weren't even dating then!

I caught up with Fang and stopped him in his tracks. We were face-to-face. Well…as much as we could be from a head in height difference. He looked at me dully in his "I'm irritated with you" way. I smirked and crossed my arms. "You really think I'd leave you that easy, Fang?"

He didn't smile. He bit his lip and shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's just…" he started. I waited. "You're just so…you know…_attractive_." I stood there. Stunned. Had Fang…_Fang_…just called me _attractive_? With an emphasis? What's wrong with the world? Don't get me wrong, I was flattered but jeez, that was blunt. Fang opened his mouth again. "I mean, everywhere we go, some guy has to be all over you. Give you his number and name and whatnot. It's just…frustrating."

Fang looked away. He was serious. He was actually jealous when another guy did so much as look at me. It kind of scared me. "Fang…" I began. "I'm not gonna leave you. At least, not for some weirdo at a county fair." Fang looked taken aback by my last comment. I smiled. "Not ever. Not for anyone. I thought you knew that." Fang's lips tightened and he avoided eye contact with me. What was up with him? He was acting so weird lately. I mean, I know that he's really cared for me and all that and he _was_ jealous of Sam but, honestly? I've never seen him act like this. His eyes met mine again.

"I can't lose you," he said.

"I know. I can't lose you either."

He shook his head. "No. I mean I can't _lose_ you. In any way, shape or form. I love you, Max. I'm _in _love with you. And if you left me-." he stopped, realizing what he was saying. "Never mind."

Emotion Fang gone. Again. But that was okay because I was still stuck on what he had already said. He loved me, yeah, he's told me that. But he's never said that he was _in_ love with me. I know, it sounds the same but when someone says that to you it's totally not. Like I can tell Iggy that I love him, because I do. But I'm not _in_ love with him. See the difference? I let out a deep breath and looked up at Fang. For once, I really had _no idea_ what to say to him. At all. Nothing. Nada. So instead, I kissed him. Right there I just flat out and kissed him in front of a whole bunch of people. The dude at the booth probably putting lasers through Fang's head with his eyes. Fang's arms went around my waist and pulled me as close to him as possible. He pulled apart for only a second to tilt his head and kiss me deeper. I was in pure bliss.

Then he pulled back and stared at me right in the eyes, emotion actually overfilling him. Man, he could switch in and out of that really fast, couldn't he? I wondered if that was the way it was with all guys or if it was just a part of the Fang Package. But whatever it was, I kind of liked it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: LONG CHAPTER! Chapters 3-5 are going to be some of my favorites so far. There will be action in this chapter but I will fail to put it in 4-5 because of various reasons. You'll see. But believe me, there will be PLEANTY of fight scenes after those two chapters. Because what's saving the world without a few broken bones and nose bleeds? I've outlined chapters 3-5 so I know what I'm doing here for the most part. Once these are done I'll see if I'm gonna wing it from there like usual (I never plan anything for the writing- I just sit down and write and what comes out, comes out) so I feel organized! And I actually have a plot! **

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: SOUTH CAROLINA, MY FAVORITE STATE**

Have I ever mentioned how many times I've been to South Carolina in the past…I dunno…yearish? Well it's been a heck of a lot. And so, once again, we were in South Carolina. Why? Because I don't have a game plan. Kinda just waiting for something to happen. That's never a good thing, don't ever follow my example. What a wonderful leader I am.

"This place looks vaguely familiar," said Gazzy, scratching his head making his hair jet out in different directions.

"_Totally_," Iggy choked. "I can recognize each one of these trees. How many branches they have, where each landmark is…"

"I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy." I paused and looked about. This place did look familiar. But then again, every forest pretty much looked the same to me. Huge trees, grass, weeds, dirt, rocks…crosses? I paused in front of a white cross and squatted to get a better look. My heart stopped. Fang placed a hand on my shoulder…

_Fang came up behind me and touched my back. I looked at him, at his dark eyes that gave away nothing. He nodded and sort of patted my hair, then moved forward and dropped some dirt onto the coffin. _

"_Well, Ari, I'm sorry that it's ended like this," he said so quietly I could hardly hear him, even with my raptor super-hearing. "You were a decent little kid, and then you were a total nightmare. I didn't trust you—until the very end. I didn't know you much, didn't care to." Fang stopped and brushed some overlong hair out of his eyes. "Right now, that feels like the biggest tragedy of all."_

_Okay, that so did me in. Mr. Rock being all emotional? Expressing feelings? Tears spilled down my cheeks and I covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to make a sound. Nudge put her arm around me, feeling my shoulders shaking, and Angel held me tight. Then everyone was holding me, total flock hug, and I put my head on Fang's shoulder and cried._

"What is it?" Iggy asked, breaking the silence.

I took a deep breath and stood up. "Ari," I replied. "It's his grave. I knew it was in this state but I didn't quite remember the actual spot."

I turned around to my flock. Nudge bit her lip and remained quiet, remembering the day that we had buried my half-brother. It wasn't one I liked to remember, either. None of us are big criers but that day we all let out a few tears. Even Jeb cried a little. After it all, Ari was his son and Jeb had partially been responsible for the poor kid's death.

I returned to stare at the grave below me. I wished that Ari could just, like, pop up out of there and magically be okay. I wished I could give him some of that vaccine that Jeb had come up with. But none of that was likely. Or possible. They did bring Ari back after I had killed him, then turned him into an Eraser. They had brought me back after my expiration date came but Ari was gone. Buried into a hole in the ground with dirt and flowers and a small wooden cross with his name engraved in it. He was only seven. No kid should have to die that early. It would be like Angel dying. I shook the thought.

"MAX!" a blood curling scream erupted into my eardrums. Fang and I both whizzed around to see…_oh God_…_Erasers._ Nudge was kicking and screaming as loud as she could as the Eraser held her in his clutches. And before I could say "Up and Away", the others were in air. Fang and I lunged ourselves at the long lost enemies. What the heck were they doing here? I jumped on one with a swift kick but he barely budged. He grabbed my leg and swung me around, right into a tree branch. My breath left me as I crumpled to the ground in pain. I quickly got to my feet and slammed my foot into the Eraser's kneecap and he fell. I kicked his head hard a few times, blood gushing everywhere, and he was out cold.

I looked around. There were more. A lot more. And they were flying…perfectly. _God._ The others were battling in air and giving a pretty good fight. I saw Iggy crash his hands over one Eraser's ears and he fell like a lead rock to the forest below. The others were holding their own. I turned once only to see Fang get his face sliced like butter. Butter that had red jelly in it. I returned to my battle and lunged myself at another Eraser. With a side kick, I implanted my foot into the back of his knee making him stagger. Then I finished his fight with a few quick foot-to-gut impressions and I cupped my hands together and smashed them into the crook of his neck. Let's just say he won't be moving his head for a while.

I gave another Eraser a jumping scissor kick at his neck, rattling his spine. He wobbled and fell forward on his face. Fang and I were back-to-back kicking and slamming off other Erasers. Blood flying, mutants falling (on both sides), and mutant birds wining. Score. The airborne ones seemed to have all been disassembled (for lack of better words) and the others were now watching from far above as Fang and I got rid of the last few. Another Eraser caught the corner of my eye. He was _standing_ on Ari's grave. I raced towards him with anger and rage and knocked him on the ground and straddled him.

_Ari gagged and started to go down. I threw myself at him, grabbing his head, and we fell as one in slow motion. He was huge, heavy, and we dropped like lead. Wham! Butt, back, head…I held on tight—as Ari's neck slammed against the hard side of the tunnel. I heard a horrible, stomach-turning _crack_ that vibrated up my arms. Ari and I stared at each other in shock._

_"You really hurt me," he gasped rawly, terrible surprise in his voice. "I wouldn't hurt you_. Not like this_." Then his head flopped down, and Ari went totally limp. His eyes rolled up and the whites of his eyes showed._

With tears in my eyes I took the Erasers neck and slammed it on the ground as hard as I could, feeling that same horrible, stomach-turning _crack_. I watched his eyes roll to the back of his head remembering Ari and the Eraser was gone.

I then stood up, tears in my eyes and looked around. The Erasers that weren't dead (which was the one I had just taken care of) were gone and the Flock was standing around staring at me. I wiped my eyes and walked up to my flock. I took the sleeve of my sweatshirt and wiped the blood off of Gazzy's nose and smiled at my little band of mutant bird kid troopers. But moments like these don't last long enough. A sudden burst of pain entered my skull. I shut my eyes tight and rubbed my temples.

"Are you alright?" Fang asked, quietly. I held up a finger to silence everyone for the moment. It wasn't a bad headache like the ones back in New York had been oh so long ago but it wasn't a minor Aspirin curing one either.

_Max?_ I struggled to hear the choppy Voice in my head. _Max? I need you to listen to me, Max_.

_Dr. Lyons?_ I thought. _Where are you? What happened? What's going on?_

_Your questions will be explained later. Right now I need you to follow my directions. There's someplace you need to be. Someone is waiting for you._ I waited for the instructions and wondered who was waiting. Was this a trap? Had someone else gotten a hold of the remote for the Voice? It was possible. _I need you to follow King Road and turn right onto US-76. Go about seven miles then turn right again on North Broad Street. You will be in Clinton. _

I hesitated. Clinton? What's in Clinton? I wasn't so sure about this. I mean, I've heard the Voice once since we've escaped from Athens's house but that was it. Just once. I've wanted some direction but this was a little specific…and abrupt. "We're going to Clinton," I announced, slowly.

"Good," Gazzy sighed. "I was getting anxious to leave this place." I laughed.

_As am I,_ I thought. I decided to follow the Voice's instructions and we flew above US-76 and made it to North Broad Street in Clinton, South Carolina. Then we dropped behind a large bush and made our way to the sidewalk. I looked around. There was no one outside. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe Dr. Athens sent someone to come take us and bring us back to his place. Or maybe I was just paranoid. Either option was extremely likely.

"What's going on?" Fang asked, sounding the slightest bit annoyed. I didn't blame him. "What are we doing here?"

I shrugged. "The Voice." Fang's eyes widened. "Dr. Lyons is back…somehow. He told me to come here, to North Broad Street in Clinton. He said that someone is waiting for us. I don't know where and I don't know who but there is someone."

"What if it's a trap?"

"Then we get to kick some butt, but for now let's give my craziness the benefit of the doubt, okay?" That's when I stopped. Through a window on the opposite side of the street I saw her. That woman in her house. Her dark hair, olive skin, jaw line that matched Fang's _exactly_…I smiled. "Time to meet an old friend of ours."

--

I raced up the street to knock on the red door of the blue house. These people were sure colorful. I laughed to myself. Irony. As we waited, Fang looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I just smiled. Then the door opened. There was a man there who looked, funnily, _nothing_ like Fang. I knew Dr. Taylor was married but I guess I always thought that it would be to Fang's dad. Maybe not.

"May I help you?" the man asked.

"Uh…yeah," I began. "I'm looking for Dr. Taylor…" I felt Fang tense up. I was sure the rest of the flock was a little anxious as well. But what I thought would be a gleeful welcome, was anything but. The man's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"There's no one here with that name," he said quickly before slamming the door in my face. I stood there bewildered for a few moments then shook my head. _That was weird…_

Fang jabbed my side. "Ow. What was that for?"

"What are you doing?" he asked me, angry. "We've gotta get out of here."

Before Fang could leave the door opened again. This time it wasn't the door-slammer-in-the-facer man. It was Dr. Taylor. Fang's mother.

Her eyes widened at us, then at the rest of us. "Oh my good heavens!" she yelled, noticing our beat up and bloody conditions. "Come in here this instant!"

Janet gathered us up all in her kitchen and began wiping our faces down with wet wash cloths. Her hand was gentle but the water and alcohol still burned on our cuts. "What happened to all of you?"

I sighed. "Let's just say that there are people in this world who don't want _us _in this world. You know, Itex, Erasers, evil scientists, yada, yada." Dr. Taylor sighed and shuffled us all out into the living room.

--

After quick hugs, smiles and the passing of hot chocolates, and easing the worry off of Dr. Taylor we were all sitting around in chairs in a living room. I was next to Fang on the couch facing Mr. and Mrs. Taylor on the opposite couch. The others were in chairs that had been pulled up around the coffee table.

"I never would have guessed to see all of you again," Dr. Taylor said, intrigued. "I forgot there's so many of you! But I'm glad…in a way. I mean, you all keep each other together. Like a family." True most times…not quite as much when we last met this lady. I mean, the last time, Fang and I had just broken up and we were in Missouri with the rest of the flock in none other than Itex, Kansas if you could believe that. We weren't much of a family at that time. "Well it's very nice to see you all."

Fang smiled nervously and sipped his hot chocolate. "What brings you all here?"

I bit my lip. Uhh…a voice in my head? Yeah. That's it. Sound like a schizo. "Internal instincts?" close enough. "Someone told me to meet you here. I'm not sure why but they did. If you believe that. What are you doing in Clinton?"

"Well after my little incident in Charleston, I had to move. I kind of got fired. So I changed my name and moved here to Clinton with my husband, Geoff." I looked at Fang. She got fired? Whoops. My bad. "I may know why you are here," she continued, "and I'm glad you are. Like I already mentioned, it's great to see you all here."

I looked at Dr. Taylor then over at Geoff. He looked shocked, confused, intrigued and kind of scared. Well, that's most everyone's reactions to us. We're pretty used to that by now. I waited as Janet Taylor progressed.

"You see, I received a call yesterday and I'm expecting company any moment n-." before she could finish the doorbell rang. I froze. Who could possibly be here? Was it Dr. Lyons?

Janet reentered the room, smiling, followed by…JEB! I almost knocked Fang over by jumping up so fast. I ran up and hugged Jeb tightly. I know, that sounds waaayyyy out of character for me, hugging Jeb and all, but after a little talk with my mom, almost being killed yet again from a maniac scientist and then having Jeb save all of our lives by giving us the cure to our expiration dates, well let's just say I began to love him a little bit again. Jeb returned the hug then went to sit by Janet as I returned to Fang.

"I'm glad to see you made it this far, Max," he said. "I have some things that I need to discuss with you guys."

"I'm listening," I said and crossed my arms over my chest.

"It's good news yet bad news at the same time." I received skeptic glances from the flock. "The good news…Itex is gone." My eyes widened. Gone? Like, _gone_, gone? Done? Over with? Mission accomplished? How? "After what the reporters saw at the Itex complex in Missouri, they were sworn not to speak of anything unless they wanted to be killed. Well, I guess one didn't mind the threat too much because they turned them in to the authorities."

My face lit up. This put a whole new level of excitement and thrill into my day. Itex was gone! Forever! And it was all thanks to Fang's stupid move to go find his mother out in the middle of a freaking tornado. I'd have to thank him for that later.

"But…that's also the bad news. You see, the people who the reporters told Itex about actually already knew about Itex and were already planning to take over. So even though Itex is out of the way, there's a new corporation that's coming in on this little science experiment." Well that's one way to put the whole thing. "It's call World Solutions Inc. They plan to replace Itex and 'bring peace' to the world. At least, that's what they're telling everyone. I did some research and it turns out that these big wigs are actually planning to dictate the world, much like the others, with their science. Only they won't be wiping everyone out." Jeb paused. "They'll be turning everyone else into genetic altered humans."

I swallowed. That explained the Erasers from earlier and from San Francisco. This was a nightmare. I mean, it was great that the world wasn't going to be blown up by half but a world full of mutants by turning _everyone_ into mutants? Could these people get any more disgusting? I groaned out loud I looked up to the ceiling. Janet and Geoff stayed silent, just staring at Jeb like he was crazy. They had the right.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Iggy asked. The six of us turned our heads towards Jeb.

"Well there's one place that I need to get to before World Solutions gets to it. It's a place that was once swarming with Itex engineering but once everyone found out what World Solutions was doing, the place was abandoned. It has been for a few months now. And I need you guys to come with me to help gather up all of the information on Itex before they show up and take it all."

I waited for Jeb to speak up about this place. If it was once swarming with Itex scientists of course this new "World Solutions" corp would want to raid it.

"This place is out in the middle of nowhere which is why it's the one Itex lab left that hasn't been raided. It's in California. It's the School." I bit my lip. "We need to go as soon as possible."

I took a deep breath and let it out slow. Okay, so this place had been abandoned. But still. I wasn't really looking forward to going back to that God forsaken place. "What does this have to do with them?" I asked Jeb, motioning towards the Taylors. The two kind of perked up and watched Jeb for an answer.

"I need them to go with your mom, Dr. Martinez. We've been working a few kinks in our plan out. They'll meet her back in Arizona and will go with her back to Itex, Kansas. Dr. Lyons is back there right now." I shot him a confused glance. "I'll explain later," he said. "But for now, we need them to go clear out Itex City Hall for more information and I need you six to come with me back to California so that we can raid that place before World Solutions gets there."

"And if we don't?" I asked.

"If you don't," there was irritancy in his voice. "If you don't then World Solutions will get their hands on the blueprints and every single test record of every single one of you. And if that happens then they will know your strengths, weaknesses, exactly how you're built, ages, parents, birth towns, relatives, _everything_. And if that happens, then there's no chance of you ever saving the world."

I fell back into the couch and sighed. This was a tuffy. Go back and face my disgusting childhood, or let the world be destroyed by more mad scientists who were peace posers. Both options sucked about the same. But since I'm a kind, caring, loving person who doesn't want any of you to be turned into mutant bird or wolf kids, then I'll take my chances and face my child hood. Because that's just the wonderful person I am.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Know what's a pet peeve of mine? When your name comes with more nicknames than you can ever phathom. Gahh. Anyway, I'm done complaining there.**

**Chapter Four: The School:**

The place looked like a scene from a ghost movie. All lights were shut off, it was pitch black outside, there was a slight breeze and I could have sworn I heard violins somewhere in the depths of my mutant brain. Jeb was the last to hop out of his truck and walk up to the School. We had made it here in four days, slower than what it would have taken us to fly here.

Now we all just stood and stared at the building before us. Usually we were taken here by force, by Erasers, against our will. Now we were just going to walk right in without anyone throwing a bag over our head and no gut wrenching fight. I was slightly disappointed.

Jeb was the first to go. He took out a key and unlocked the door and shoved it open. I remembered that door oh-so perfectly. It was the door we were never allowed out of because it only meant that we'd be free if we went through. And if we did go through, it would mean being attacked by Erasers and most likely killed. It was before the time of Jeb's heroic rescue of the six of us so none of us had known how to fight. So if we left, it would be the end.

I followed Jeb cautiously and motioned for the others to follow. We stuck together, Angel holding my hand, and entered the School. Things seemed to have been left abruptly. Papers on counters, doors open, things left about. Like experiments and projects were still going on only the people had just vanished.

"First we need to gather your files in my office," Jeb said, almost whispering. No one else was here, but it seemed way to quiet and eerie to speak up any louder. We all followed as Jeb made his way to our destination. I remembered his office. I'd been in there quite a few times. The last time, though, was when we were rescuing Angel from the School when this whole thing started about a year ago. She had been kidnapped by Erasers, by Ari, from our house in the Colorado Mountains. That seemed like ages ago now.

We walked past a bank of computers to a door in the far wall that led into a smaller, less lablike room that was furnished. There were couches, a table, chairs, a sink and a microwave. This was the place that Jeb had first told me my mission. My mission to save the world.

"_Max," he said, with a new tone of urgency in his voice. "Max, soon some people will come in to talk to you. But I need to tell you something first." _

That you are the devil incarnate?

"_Something I couldn't tell you before, something I thought I'd have time to prepare you for later."_

_He looked around, as if to make sure no one else could hear. Guess he was forgetting all our surveillance lessons, about hidden mikes and heat sensors that can see through walls, and long-distance listening devices that could pick up a rat sneeze from a half mile away._

"_The thing is, Max," he said, tons of heart-wringing emotion in his eyes, "you're even more special than I always told you. You see, you were created for a _reason_. Kept alive for a purpose, a special purpose."_

_He took a deep breath, looking deep into my eyes. I coldly shut down every good memory I had of him, every laugh we'd shared, every happy moment, every thought that he was like a dad to me. _

"_Max, that reason, that purpose is: You are supposed to _save the world_."_

I shook the thought and watched as Jeb opened up a file cabinet and placed a bunch of files on the desk. There were six of them. Each one had a different name on them. Our names. We brought chairs up around the desk and I started going through them. The first one I picked up said Angel Owens. Owens? I opened the file. Paper clipped to the left side of the folder was a picture of Angel as a baby. On the right was paperwork. It read:

**NAME: **OWNES, ANGEL (EXPERIMENT 11)  
**BIRTHDATE: **17 FEBRUARY, 2002  
**WEIGHT:** 2 LBS, 1 OZ  
**BIRTH PARENTS:** MR. BLAKE OWENS, MRS. SHERYL OWENS  
**BIRTH PLACE: **14927 239TH PL SE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS  
**ACCESS: **$10,000- GIVEN BY PARENTS

My heart sank. Angel was given up and paid for by her parents and the School, just like Gazzy. I closed the folder and set it aside. Next I found Gazzy's. Real name? Johnny. I chuckled. But just like Angel, they showed his birth date, weight, parents, address and how they had access to him. This disturbed me greatly and I saw the same emotion on Fang's face as he read Angel's profile. I went through Iggy's and Nudge's and then stopped at Fang's.

**NAME: **LOWES, UNKNOWN (EXPERIMENT 3)  
**BIRTHDATE:** 24 JUNE, 1993  
**WIEGHT:** 3 LBS, 2 OZ  
**BIRTHPARENTS:** MS. JANET LOWES  
**BIRTHPLACE: **CHARLESTON BIRTH PLACE 9133 TIMBER STREET NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA  
**ACCESS: **ADOPTION GRANTED BY MOTHER

Huh. They never entered Fang's first name into the system and his last name was Lowes? I guessed it was before Dr. Taylor became married. I closed the file and the rest of the paperwork and handed it to Fang. He opened it and started reading. The others were reading theirs, Gazzy reading Iggy's to him silently. Jeb pushed me my folder.

**NAME: **BATCHELDER, MAXIMUM  
**BIRTHDATE: **18 MAY, 1993  
**WEIGHT: **3 LBS  
**BIRTHPARENTS: **DR. JEB BATCHELDER, DR. VALENCIA MARTINEZ  
**BIRTHPLACE: **ITEX INSTITUTE, CA  
**ACCESS:** DONATION OF GENETICS BY PARENTS

I raised an eyebrow. Batchelder? They gave me Jeb's last name? And I was _donated_? This ticked me off greatly. I was a stupid donation. I felt insulted, betrayed and disgusted. I was angry at Jeb for letting them put _donation_ as my "access" and I was mad at him for letting them put Batchelder as my last name. What about Ride? I mean, I was happy that Jeb was my dad (took me a while for that one) but I was not giving up my name. Not for anyone. And if I one day married Fang, I was not changing my name to Taylor. Maximum Taylor. Sounds like a shoe shop.

I sighed and pushed the folder away, not caring what else was in it. At the moment, at least. "So why didn't you show us this stuff before?" I asked Jeb impatiently. "Why didn't you tell us about our parents?"

Jeb looked around at all of our confused faces. This is what we've been waiting for our whole lives. To find out who our families were, where they lived and someday be reunited with them. Iggy had been but that turned out only to bring him the horror of people interviewing him about his life. Nudge might have but we're not sure. I did and I'm grateful because they're actually helping us. And Fang's parents were helping us, too. But why couldn't we have known sooner?

"I couldn't tell you then. If I told you I'd have to of taken you to see them. You guys weren't ready for that yet. I needed you to stay put and focus on what I was trying to tell you. That's why it wasn't a good idea to go after your parents in the first place." Jeb stared at me as he said that. I rolled my eyes. "But now you're ready. Right now, I need to clear this place of your files and records while your mom and Fang's parents clear out the other Itex. After that, I'm going to have to have you, Max, come with me and expose World Solutions. They'll believe you. Especially after what you've done to help congress with the global warming issue. Every kid out there trusts you and so do their parents. Once we get the evidence to expose this corporation, the government will take over from there and your job will be done. So I show you now because the others are also done. They can go _home_."

We all stared at Jeb for the longest time. They were done? Jeb didn't need them here anymore? That's harsh. Even for him. and I couldn't believe that that's all we had to do. There had to be some trick up his sleeve that he wasn't telling us. There had to be more to this.

"No," Fang almost yelled. "We're not going. We're staying together. There's no way we're leaving."

"I second that motion," Iggy said, raising his hand. The others all agreed and I felt tears coming to my eyes. Even though they knew were their parents were, they were still going to come help me save the world? Even if it was just a measly press conference? Though I'm sure it wasn't. I smiled brightly at my flock. Jeb smiled, too.

"Good," he said. "Now we have more rooms to check out."

--

We stuffed all of the files in my backpack and walked out. Jeb lead us downstairs to another part of the lab that we had never been to before. Once you got downstairs and turned right, there was a big set of double doors with the sign: "Operation Room" in big black lettering above it. Jeb pushed open the doors and we all entered. There were surgery tools everywhere, heart monitors, lights, scrubs and tubes. It looked like a normal OR in a normal hospital. Like the one Fang was in after Ari had almost killed him. I watched as Jeb went through another file cabinet and pulled out a folder. It had Iggy's name on it. Well, his real name.

That's when it hit me. The operation room. None of us had been in here, so we thought. But here was a file of Iggy's in this room. The only one of us who had ever had surgery in this room at the School was Iggy. When the Whitecoats tried to give him night vision.

_It was night. Around eight and he still wasn't back. They had taken him about four hours ago according to the clock on the opposite wall in front of me. I tracked the wall lower to the boy across from me. We called him Fang. I wasn't sure if he had a real name but that's what we called him. Like how we called me Maximum. We connected sights, both concerned about our friend. Usually the Whitecoats didn't take us for more than an hour or so at a time so this was unbelievable. _

_I was about to say something to Fang in our code language we had made up (so no one could understand us) when the door slowly opened. We both stared, wide-eyed. Light shed into the room and then the overhead light came on. That's when we saw him come back. But he wasn't normal. The boy, who we called Iggy, came into the room being led by a Whitecoat and was looking around the room and panicking. His shoulders went up and down as he breathed heavily like he had just done a run. _

_The Whitecoats had us run on treadmills once a week to track how fast we could go. And that was pretty fast. But the Whitecoat opened Iggy's cage which was in between Fang's and the 2-year-old girl's, Nudge, and then shut it. Another Whitecoat came in. _

"_That was a total loss," one said. "What are we going to do now?"_

"_We could always try this again on one of the others," the other replied. "Maybe the oldest girl." I sat up a little straighter at the mention of my being. "She's strong and healthy. She's the oldest. Maybe she's more compatible with this test."_

_I heard a sigh. "No. That won't do. What if this happens again? The Director would have our heads. I guess we'll have to do with this one that got messed up. Let's get out of here."_

_And with that the light went out leaving only the moon to help us see and the big door clicked shut. Fang and I both looked over at Iggy's cage. He was crying and banging against his cage like they had done something just dreadfully_ awful _to him_. _He cried out and my heart ached for him._

"_No!" he said and cried some more. He continued to bang about the cage. "NO!"_

"_What's going on, Iggy?" I asked softly. "Why were you gone so long? What did they do to you?"_

_The boy whimpered. "I can't see!" he screamed. I raised an eyebrow. What? "I can't see! I can't see. No! Where are you? Max! I can't see you! Max!"_

_That's when it sank in. I turned to Fang and we shared a look of pity, fear and utter sadness for our friend. They had taken away his sight._ _By _accident. _I concluded, anyway. They had said that they'd messed up. They had tried to give him another power and they messed up. It took all my strength not to break out of my crate and rush to Iggy and just hold him as he cried. Fang mysteriously blended into the shadows of his cage and I scooted into the farthest corner of mine and huddled up, bringing my knees to my chest and listened to Iggy. He just screamed and cried and yelled for me and banged around his cage over and over again. I leaned my head on my knees and quietly cried myself to sleep. _

_Everything was going to be different from now on. We all hoped that the Whitecoats would restore Iggy's sight but they never did. Iggy was blind…forever._

Iggy touched the operating table with one hand and stroked it. Back and forth. Probably remembering the feel of it. I looked over to Fang who was watching Iggy. His face was blank. Gazzy looked at me and then at Fang and then Iggy. He didn't understand. He didn't know this was where Iggy had lost his sight. Only the three of us knew. And it was one memory I wished I could push out of my brain forever. I had felt so bad for Iggy that night. Fang and I both had. And it was only the beginning of the pain and anguish for him. We could all get over broken ribs, bloody noses, needle pricks and the feeling of not being fed enough. But Iggy—Iggy would have to deal with being blind for the rest of his life. That would never go away.

I walked up and placed a comforting hand on Iggy's shoulder. He turned to face me, his eyes aiming about two inches below mine. I gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. His lips pressed together tightly and his fist clenched at his side while he held on to the table with is other hand.

"We're right here for you," I whispered softly. I remembered when we were back in Virginia at Anne's and we all went to find Iggy's parents the first time only to fail. He was depressed that he couldn't see and that if we died, then he'd be lost…he'd lose himself. I remembered what I told him even though it wasn't exact. "I'm sorry that you're blind. I remember when you weren't, and I can't even imagine what it's like to lose that. I'm sorry we're mutant bird kids, I'm sorry we have Erasers and people trying to kill us all the time. But if you think we're going to give up on you for one moment, you've got another think coming. Yes, you're a blind mutant freak, but you're _my_ blind mutant freak. Iggy, I _need_ you. I _love_ you. I need _all_ of you, all five of you, to feel whole myself."

Iggy smiled. "Well, when you put it that way…"

He turned and hugged me breathing in deeply. "Just remember: We're never giving up on you. Not ever." I pulled back and looked into his sightless eyes as everyone gathered around.

"That's right!" Gazzy said. "Because we're a flock. And like birds of a feather, we stick together!" I smiled at Gazzy and ruffled his already messy hair.

"Well," said Jeb interrupting our most amazingly sappy moment. "Ready for more memories?"

I laughed. "Yeah. Like this place is ever gonna have any good ones."

"We'll see."

--

The next room looked more like a nursery than a lab room. There were cribs, brightly colored curtains, mobiles on the ceiling, rocking chairs, files and toys all over the floor.

"This was the room where the newborns were kept before going into your room. Each one of you spent your first two years of life here. Even Ari spent most of his infancy here." I looked around, trying to remember anything from this place. I couldn't. I was too young. I don't think any of us had any real memory of being here. "This room hasn't been used in about six or seven years, though," Jeb continued. "The last infant in this room was back when Angel was born."

I looked to Angel and she was on the floor playing with some of the toys. I smiled and kneeled by her. It reminded me of how young she really was. How young all of us were. Fang, Iggy and I were all fifteen now, Angel was seven, the others yet to have their birthdays. But we were teenagers and children yet we have spent our whole lives as science experiments, lived on our own for about three years, fought to the almost death numerous times, been through more loss, devastation, broken bones, cuts, sores, starvations, sleepless nights and fears than most any other kids out there _and_ we were _this close_ to saving the ENTIRE world.

I couldn't believe that it had only been about seven years since that day. The day that little Angel was born. I don't think any of us could believe it. I don't think any of us could believe that we were safe now, either. If what Jeb was saying was absolutely true, which I still highly doubt. But it was in this very room that we began our first days as human hybrids. Mutants. Freaks. It was in this very room that each of us became a new member of the flock.

_I watched the clock, anxiously. It was time. It was 9 pm. It was time for Jeb to come. Jeb was the only nice Whitecoat. He was always kind and loving towards all five of us. And every day at 9 am and 9 pm, Jeb would come in, shut and lock the door, and let us out of our cages that the people kept us in. He'd talk to us and teach us stuff and give us snacks. I loved it when Jeb came. He was like our father. Secretly, I wished he was. None of us had parents, but if we were to have any, I would want my dad to be Jeb. _

_But Jeb had a son. He was one year old and his name was Ari. He looked like Jeb and he was actually kind of cute. He had blonde hair and blue eyes like Jeb and was really squirmy. I remember when Ari was born. Jeb was very excited. I was envious of the tiny baby. He had Jeb all to himself and he wasn't an experiment. He didn't have wings like we did. He was normal. He was a normal kid born to Jeb. _

_About two minutes after nine, the door opened and the light turned on. I sat at the front of my cage, excited. The door shut and locked and a man came and leaned down to look into my cage, just like he did every time. His eyes were hidden behind glasses but I just thought that made him more special. Others had glasses but they looked best on Jeb. He opened our crates and we jumped out. That's when we noticed it. _

_Jeb was carrying something. Well, some_one. _He knelt down and we all came over to look at who he held. It was a little girl. A little girl with bright blue eyes and almost white hair which curled on top of her head. She was awake, looking wide-eyed around at all of us. Was she another kid of Jeb's? Did he have a daughter now, too? I hoped not._ I_ was going to be his daughter. Not this little girl who didn't even _know _Jeb. I looked at her again. She looked sweet, I guess._

"_Kids," Jeb's soft voice said. "This is a new family member."_

Ohhhh_, I thought. Family. She was one of us. Fang and I exchanged glances of sadness. It's not that we didn't like the baby, because we did. She was beautiful. It's just that we felt bad that the Whitecoats had done this to yet another poor little child. They had mixed her DNA with bird just like they did to us so that she had wings. Jeb held her up and uncovered her back. I touched her wings. They were soft, silky and pure white. I could have sworn I had seen a halo over her head. Jeb bounced the baby a little and she smiled. Then he turned and looked straight at the youngest boy, Gasman. _

"_Gazzy," Jeb started. He always called us by our chosen names, not buy our experiment numbers. That's what made him even better. "This is your sister." Gazzy cocked his head to one side and looked at the little girl. Sister? Weren't we all family? Almost like reading my thoughts Jeb spoke up. "She's related to you by blood, Gazzy. You two are real siblings."_

_The two-year-old boy looked confused. He didn't really understand what Jeb was saying being so young and all. We all just stared at the Gasman and then back at the little girl Jeb held. They did look alike. Just like Jeb and Ari looked alike. They were really the same family. Jeb handed me the little girl and I smiled. "Angel," Jeb said, looking at me. I nodded my head in approval. I couldn't think of a better name for the little girl. _

"_Welcome little, Angel," I said. "Don't worry. I'll look after you."_

_Jeb gave me a bright smile and stroked my hair. I felt proud. I felt like Angel was my own, though I knew she surely wasn't. But it was like that with all the others. I felt like I had to take care of them, protect them. Even though I couldn't do much. But I think they all felt the same way because they'd always look to me for answers or questions or for permission for something. I looked down at the little Angel in my arms. Then I leaned down and kissed her forehead and smiled._

"_Welcome to the family."_

* * *

**A/N (again): Whoo. Okay, things that were said to Iggy by Max are from **_**School's Out—Forever. **_**Flashback when Jeb tells Max to save the world from **_**The Angel Experiment**_**. From the previous chapter, Ari's funeral from **_**The Final Warning**_**, Ari's death in the sewer from **_**The Angel Experiment**_**. I'm pretty sure that's it from the books. I don't remember. Anyway, hope you liked another longish chapter!- burnoutbright**

* * *


	5. Chapter 5 Author's Note

**OHMYGOODNESS!!!!!!! Okay, quick author's note because I'm sooooo very hyped right now!!! I have a list of things:**

**1. I'm working on the next chapters and will get them up soon. Don't worry, keep watching out for them, I've been MEGA busy.**

**2. Reason why I'm so busy: I'm writing a book!!! This is sooooooo exciting!! My friends have bugged me enough to say yes and *for them and everyone else* I have promised to have the first 10 chapters due by the end of the month so between that and school I'm booked (pun not intended). The book should come out in a year or two hopefully. If not, then in 3. Working titles: The Cleft or Symmetry. If you wish, I'll post a temporary summary- subject to change.**

**3. ANOTHER EXCITING THING!!! I was nominated for the Jeb Award for the MR awards for Maximum Ride: Taking Chances (part one in my series so far). SO THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY SUPPORTERS!!!! I couldn't have done it without you guys. Vote for Taking Chances!!! I love you guys! **

**Keep looking out for more chaps and book updates! THANKS AGAIN!**

**-burnoutbright**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been busy. This is my third week of my junior year and I've never seen so much homework in my life. I started on a Thursday and after two days, my first weekend of the year was spent doing 10 hours of homework. So, that's pretty much my life right now. I'll work on this the best I can!- burnoutbright **

* * *

My heart almost leaped out of my chest when we arrived to that room. Our room. The room we've stayed in almost our whole lives. I watched the faces of the flock carefully. We all had the same thoughts of this place. None of them were good. It's not like a home where you could have mixed reactions. Yes, this was the place where we all grew up together, but it was the place where we were given wings, where Iggy lost his sight, where we had been injured, experimented on. Where we would never have a chance to have a normal life. This room was hell.

I was the first to step in. None of us had ever thought we'd be here again. We'd never wanted to come here again, and we'd never thought we'd be here as a visit and not as a capture. It was weird not being shoved into a crate with a bunch of Erasers everywhere. It was surreal and the air was thick. I looked around in the dark room. The cages were in their places, labels marking which crate belonged to each bird kid. _Experiment 11_, Angel. _Experiment 8_, Nudge. _Experiment 10_, Gazzy. _Experiment 5,_ Iggy. _Experiment 3_, Fang. I stopped in front of the last cage. The label had no experiment number. Just the name _MAXIMUM_. I ran my fingers over the label and turned around to face the opposite wall and stared at the clock right above Fang's old crate. It was late, around 9 pm. The daylight out the window by my crate was replaced by the reoccurring flash of lightning. The howl of Erasers were replaced by loud claps of thunder. Angel hid behind Jeb. Fang came beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder but I didn't move.

_I couldn't sleep that night. I don't know why, though. Call it "animal instinct". Like you know when a dog senses an earthquake then they get all worked up and scared. I guess I could sense something was going to happen that night because I was absolutely restless. I stayed up listening to all of the others sleep. Their breaths were normal and consistent. I listened to the wind rush loudly outside the School and the thunder and rain. Every once and a while I'd see a quick flash of light from the window. There was a loud clap of thunder and I huddled up. I saw Nudge flinch from across the room in her crate._

_There was a noise outside the room and my spine tightened. I put my senses on full alert, praying it wasn't an Eraser. I watched the door slowly as the handle turned and slowly opened. A cart was pushed into the room, the kind that the Whitecoats would use to put our crates on when they wanted to move us all at once. The cart stopped in front of my crate and I heard footsteps come towards me. I moved to the back. Without any words, my crate was lifted off of the floor and on the top of the cart. I watched as the Whitecoat placed Fang next to me and then Iggy on the other end. Then he put Nudge, Gazzy and Angel on the bottom of the cart. I couldn't see far enough up to see the guys face but I could tell it wasn't an Eraser. _

_I felt Fang's eyes rest on me through the holes in the side of the crates and I looked back. I gave him a look that said, "I don't know but we'll be fine". I was the oldest (Jeb told me this) and so I made it my duty to look after the others. Fang, Iggy and I were roughly all the same age. We think that we're ten but we're not really sure. So when Nudge was born we guessed we were about three since we think she's about seven right now. Then there's Gazzy who is probably four and Angel is roughly two. But those were just estimates. It's not like I have a calendar in my crate crossing off days or anything. If anything, that would be a step up._

_We were wheeled out through the back door of the School. The door we were told never to go out of. If we did then we were told that there would be consequences. These consequences most likely involved Erasers so none of us ever dared to escape out that way. We knew that the School had two floors and a basement (because we have heard Them talk about it) but we've never been off the main floor so we don't know of any other exits. _

_The man pushing the cart brought us out to the front of the School and then took us around back. I recognized the back. It was the place that we could see outside our room window. It was the place that the Whitecoats brought out small animals for the Erasers to practice hunting. Every once and a while I'd see a poor, innocent animal get attacked and the sounds were just awful. Then the Erasers were rewarded and brought back inside._

_My heart sped up. Were we going to be targets for these creatures, these executors? Were we their next meal? I looked at the gate of my cage frantically, trying to figure out if there was any way I could get out and then save the others. There was no way they were going to kill us. Not today. Not after all that we've been through._

_The Whitecoat stopped rolling the cart and bent down. He picked up Nudge's crate and put her in the back of a truck. Were we going somewhere? To a new School? The Whitecoat then moved Gazzy and Angel, Iggy then Fang. Then it was my turn. He picked up my crate and placed me beside Fang then shut the tailgate of the truck. I shot a glance at the Whitecoat's face to try and identify him. It was Jeb. I heard the truck start and it started to move. I watched nervously as the School got smaller and smaller behind us. And that was the last time I saw it._


End file.
